


Navigational Error

by OnlyStraightForJongup



Category: B.A.P
Genre: Alternate Universe - Space, Daehyun and Youngjae have fucked up, Daejae freaking out, Daejae friendship, Deception, Eventual Smut, Humor, Jongup is way too amused, Light Dom/sub, M/M, Physical Manipulation, Seduction, daeup, mentions of Younglo, power games
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-13
Updated: 2017-07-25
Packaged: 2018-12-01 16:48:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11490567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OnlyStraightForJongup/pseuds/OnlyStraightForJongup
Summary: Daehyun's excited for his first mission on the moon as a tactician working to reclaim Mars from Moon Jongup.  The base he lands on isn't anything like what he expected, but it takes him much too long to realize something is wrong.  The real question here is how can Yoo Youngjae be the smartest navigator in the galaxy and still manage to fuck up this bad?





	1. The Only Moon There

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! I found this prompt today and couldn't help but write something for it! I planned on writing Himup but I really wanted to write Daehyun's reaction to being in space so it became Daeup whoops.
> 
> Prompt: Persons A and B of your OTP are in space. A kisses B and then says “It’s not gay if it’s on the moon.” B tells them that they’re on another planet, not a moon. A realizes they done fucked up. [ (source) ](http://otpprompts.tumblr.com/page/2)

Daehyun slammed the door to the ship open, taking a breath of the fresh moon air (okay, well taking a breath of the slightly-smelly, definitely-recycled fake air of the moon’s space station) and scanning the facility. No signs of life. He frowned; someone was supposed to meet them outside but no matter.

“We have arrived!” Daehyun announced, throwing out his arms and grinning out into his lack of an audience.

“Good for you?” a quiet voice answered, and Daehyun jumped, spinning to his right and peering down to find whoever spoke. He couldn’t find the speaker, but the ship next to him (who was using such an old, run-down ship?? That couldn’t be safe) had a light coming out from under it. 

“Hello?” Daehyun said, his voice echoing through the empty hanger. He bit at the inside of his cheek, unsure why he didn’t get the expected welcome. The light under the ship moved, and Daehyun watched as legs emerged from under it, followed by a torso, and finally a whole person slid out from under the ship. The garish lighting allowed Daehyun to see him quite well even as he flicked the light off. 

He had a big oil smudge on his cheek, and Daehyun grimaced as he ran an oily hand through his hair. The man looked decidedly unimpressed with him, looking up at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Please tell me you know how to get down at least.” The exasperated tone made him sound older and much more tired, but as he crossed his arms, he almost resembled a grumpy child. Daehyun would have smiled if – you know – the man hadn’t just questioned his education.

“Oh course I do!” Daehyun said, his mouth opening a little because why the hell would the man think he was that stupid? He slammed a finger onto the button to lower the walkway. “I trained for five years for this mission! I am not incompetent!”

“Oh?” the man said, still not looking very impressed. “We got a graduate on our hands. Cool.” Daehyun walked down the walkway, taking a better look at the man as he did. The guy had a mark on his nose. Daehyun wasn’t sure if it was dirt or a mole. He also looked very handsome, and Daehyun appreciated his facial structure more than he should have but that was a thought to consider later, when the man wasn’t practically glaring.

“Why do you sound surprised?” Daehyun asked. “Everyone attends training!” He’d thought they’d left the games behind at the academy, but apparently this guy – engineer? Maintenance worker? – wanted to play some power game with him. Daehyun scowled. He wasn’t going to let anyone push him around here.

“I didn’t.” The man rubbed one of his blue sleeves across his eyes, and Daehyun wondered if all the maintenance people wore blue as opposed to the normal red. It made sense; they’d be easy to recognize around the ship. He smeared the motor oil around further with his sleeve. 

Daehyun grimaced at the sight before the man’s words really registered.

“You didn’t? How are you working here then?” Daehyun couldn’t keep the shock out of his voice; he’d never heard of another worker going to the moon without heavy training. His friends had been shocked when Daehyun told them of his mission; usually, students completed at least six years of training before even being considered for a mission. “Are you a genius or something?”

“Something like that, I guess,” the man shrugged, looking unconcerned even for as shocked as Daehyun seemed. “So why are you here?”

“I’m Jung Daehyun, rank silver and communications and tactic specialist. I briefed command central about my arrival only a couple hours ago.” The engineer nodded, pausing and Daehyun heard him make a quiet, rhythmic clicking sound as he thought.

“First time on the moon then?” the man asked. He smiled at Daehyun for the first time, soft and serene, and Daehyun felt his heart jump at how it looked. Wait, what the hell? Daehyun held back the urge to touch his hand to his chest because what just happened? Sure, the man was attractive and all but he – Daehyun shook his head to clear his thoughts. He shouldn’t be thinking about this. Instead he focused on the man before him. For as weird as the man seemed, Daehyun wanted to make a good first impression.

“Yeah,” he said. “It’s my first mission. So please, if you know who I should talk to –”

“What’s your impression of the Moon base?” the man asked, and Daehyun watched a faint amusement cross his face. He realized the asshole totally enjoyed messing with him. Daehyun looked around, considering the high metal walls and how his ship was clearly the newest in the entire hanger. And shouldn’t the hanger be bigger? Daehyun knew Youngjae steered them into the largest one.

“It’s… smaller than I thought?” Daehyun admitted, frowning a little as he considered the walls. He looked at the floor and saw a small pile of food wrappers sitting near where the man had been working on the other ship. “Older and dirtier too.”

The man’s smile grew larger and more amused, and Daehyun wondered if should have held his tongue or lied and said the base looked really nice when it so obviously didn’t.

“I appreciate the honesty,” he said. “This is my hanger.” The man shrugged. “’Round here everyone just calls me Moon.” Daehyun let a smile tug at his lips at the name, raising his eyebrows.

“They call you Moon? Because you work on the moon? That’s creative.” Moon chuckled, looking back past Daehyun and towards the empty space behind them.

“Yeah, well, that’s what happens when an engineer has to make a catchy name.”

“You’re an engineer then?”

“Among other things,” Moon said. Daehyun wondered if he meant to sound so mysterious or if Daehyun just had gotten way too used to the Academy. The Academy preached always introducing yourself with your rank and specialty for maximum efficiency. Speaking of efficiency, Daehyun really should go find the commanding officer before Youngjae finished changing the settings to the ship.

“Could you lead me to the CO’s command center?” Daehyun asked, hoping the strange – though friendly – Moon would help and not leave Daehyun to wander the halls alone. 

“He’s quite busy right now. I’ve been asked the entertain you until he can meet with you,” Moon said, his face morphing into that soft smile. Daehyun wondered how old he was; his expression changed Daehyun’s perception of his age drastically. The cute smile he sported now made him look years younger, and the smeared motor oil gave him an innocent aura. 

Daehyun found him quite cute honestly. Even if he just told Daehyun the CO was apparently too busy for Daehyun to brief him about the mission.

“Well, in that case,” Daehyun said with a grumble he tried to hide from his voice. “Can you show me where to get some food?”

“Can’t leave here,” Moon said. “I’ve got some snacks though?”

“Sounds good to me,” Daehyun said, ready for anything as long as he got to eat. Moon handed him a protein bar and Daehyun felt the warmth of his skin as he passed it over.

“Want to help me with repairs?” Moon asked.

“I – I’m not an engineer!” Daehyun protested. “I can’t make repairs!”

“Sure you can,” Moon said. “Just listen to what I tell you.” He led Daehyun back to the other ship, and Daehyun hastily finished the protein bar and followed Moon, watching him bend down and grab a tool. His eyes flickered to Moon’s ass – which was not respectful or professional in the least – and Daehyun mentally slapped himself. This was not the time for that, and he refused to make a fool of himself after working so hard for this mission.

Moon handed him a pair of goggles, for safety, his brain so helpfully told him. Moon smiled, and Daehyun looked between him and the goggles.

“You ever been under a ship?” Moon raised an eyebrow as Daehyun shook his head. “You’d think they teach that at the Academy.”

“Not an engineer. Communications and tactics are more my thing,” Daehyun admitted. “They had to send Youngjae up here with me because I once caught a ship on fire.”

“Ah, Yoo Youngjae,” Moon nodded. “Heard of him. They say he’s the most talented young navigator in the galaxy.” A funny smile played on Moon’s lips, as though he knew a joke Daehyun didn’t. Daehyun tried to ignore how uncomfortable it made him feel. “Must be important to get you here for them to send him.”

“Well, I am working to reclaim Mars,” Daehyun said. “But, yes, that’s Youngjae.”

“Reclaim Mars, you say?” The weird smile grew even further. Daehyun pushed down more discomfort. “How d’you plan going about that?”

“The Mars base is old. It can’t have that many defenses.”

“So people say,” Moon said with a shrug. “Where’s the proof?” He knelt down to run a hand over the metal of the ship, and Daehyun bent over beside him. Daehyun frowned as he noticed a name inscribed onto the ship. The metal was too scuffed for Daehyun to read it, but he hadn’t seen a ship with a name inscribed on it in years. 

“Well, Jongup and his men may be known for their accuracy, but a full, all-sides attack would overpower them. Besides, Jongup expects sneaky. I think full-frontal attacks scare him.” Daehyun had spent years developing a specific battle plan against the Mars invader. He wouldn’t go into detail, not when there were ears everywhere, but he couldn’t help but brag a little about what he knew.

Sue him for his pride. Daehyun didn’t care what people thought. 

“Really?” Moon said. He sounded amused. “Isn’t a full-frontal attack predictable though?”

“Not if we send a drone in to dismantle his shield first. Convince him it’s a sneak and then just take out the shield and go all out.” Daehyun held back his smile. He’d developed the plans for that drone, and the CO’s secretary informed him they’d finished its construction. Moon frowned.

“That’s actually a decent plan,” he said, nodding at Daehyun. “You’ve earned my respect.” Daehyun held back a retort about not caring about some random engineer’s respect, not happy he’d called Daehyun’s plan only decent. “Now, back to work.”

He slipped under the ship with ease, and Daehyun did an awkward wiggle to look under with him, slipping the goggles onto his face. Moon must have given him his own goggles, Daehyun realized, because now he didn’t have any on.

“What are you doing under here?” Daehyun asked, flinching as Moon flicked the light on and lit up the bottom of the ship. The bottom had been opened and Daehyun only saw a mess of tubes and wires reaching out like the limbs of an octopus around the bottom of the ship.

“General checkup,” Moon said, sounding distant as he prodded at a tube. “There’s an oil leak somewhere in here. Problem is there’s lots of tubes.” Daehyun nodded, watching him move tubes around. He noticed he focused on the gray tubes, and figured those, as opposed to the blue and red, were the fuel tubes.

Daehyun felt a little proud he’d realized anything about the mess of technology above him. Moon poked at a tube, shifting it to look for a hole and a small waterfall of oil flowed out. Daehyun flinched away from it, not wanted that on him, thank you very much. Moon had less luck.

“Dammit! Fucking hell!” 

Daehyun looked at him to see him clamping a hand over his eye. Moon rolled to his side, groaning in pain as he pressed his hand firmly against his eye. Daehyun noticed the motor oil drip onto his lips and grimaced before realizing he really should take care of this situation.

He pulled Moon out from under the ship, ignoring the one-eyed glare and the huff from Moon as Daehyun manhandled him out. Daehyun rolled his eyes.

“That was stupid,” Daehyun told him, pulling him up to his feet. “You didn’t have to take me under there. Where’s your safety kit?” He pulled off the goggles and tossed them to the floor.

“Bathroom,” Moon said, hissing the word out as he kept his hand firmly clamped over his one eye. Daehyun was happy to note he wasn’t rubbing it at least. With the other hand, Moon waved towards an inconspicuous door on the side of the hanger. Daehyun wrapped an arm around Moon’s waist to lead him over there.

“I can walk on my own,” Moon said, voice low. Daehyun could see red creeping up his cheeks and wondered whether it was because of embarrassment or pain. Motor oil dripped down his face, and Daehyun reached out and wiped some of it off with a sigh.

“Maybe so, but then you’d run into something.” More oil ran towards his other eye, and Daehyun stopped before it could. He raised the bottom of his red t-shirt and wiped the oil off Moon’s face, protecting his other eye. Daehyun noticed the mark on his nose was definitely a mole.

Moon’s good eye widened with shock, and Daehyun noticed it flick down to his stomach and back up to Daehyun’s face. He tried not to smile at the fact Moon definitely checked him out. Daehyun dropped the shirt and moved back a step, watching the red continue up Moon’s face. Definitely embarrassment, he realized.

Once in the bathroom, Daehyun ordered Moon to sit on the counter. He did, replacing his hand with a wash cloth that Daehyun handed him. Daehyun looked around for an eyewash station, sighing when he didn’t see one. 

“Where is the eyewash station?” Daehyun asked with a frown, hoping he wasn’t just stupid and missed it.

“Don’t have one,” Moon said with a shrug. 

“They’re protocol.” Daehyun frowned. He’d never even seen a training facility without one. “Here.” He filled a cup with water and handed it to Moon, who took it with a grimace and carefully pulled the rag away, running water into his eye. Moon cringed, and Daehyun reached over and took his free hand, letting Moon squeeze it as his eye stung. 

“Thanks,” Moon said grudgingly. His good eye flicked to Daehyun and back again. Daehyun smiled at him.

“No problem.” Daehyun grinned, his confidence growing as Moon regripped his hand. “I don’t mind helping cute guys.”

“Think I’m cute?” Moon glanced at him again. “Thanks. You’re not bad either.”

“Not bad?” Daehyun echoed, knowing Moon thought he was more attractive than that. “I’m offended.” Moon smiled at him again with that softer smile. Daehyun liked that one a lot. It softened Moon’s features and gave him an innocence that wasn’t even lost when he tried to break every bone in Daehyun’s hand. 

After about ten minutes, Moon finally stopped hissing with pain and blinked his eye open. Daehyun winced at how bloodshot it was, and Moon rubbed at it with his free hand.

“That - was a poor decision,” he said, and Daehyun had to laugh.

“So now you admit it.” Daehyun continued to hold his hand as they walked back towards Daehyun’s ship. “Youngjae should be done soon,” he mused. “When can I meet the CO?”

“He’ll call for you,” Moon said, waving a vague hand towards the door that must lead to the main facilities. Daehyun frowned at the answer.

“So, you doing any other work here? Other than the battle plans?” Daehyun felt Moon’s eyes sharpen and wondered why he cared so much. 

“Not too much. Helping out here and there with efficiency. Although I thought the technology here was much further along than it is…”

“You’ll have to keep me updated on all that.” 

Daehyun nodded. He wouldn’t mind spending more time with Moon at all. Something banged hard in his ship, and Daehyun turned to face it, lines creasing his forehead. “What is Youngjae doing in there?” 

“CO, sir!” almost at the same moment, a voice yelled from the doorway Moon had gestured towards. Daehyun started.

“Is that for me?” he asked, confused by the unfamiliar summons. Moon chuckled.

“No, it’s for me. Nice meeting you, Daehyun. I wish you luck.” He leaned in and kissed Daehyun, whose eyes widened for a brief second then closed. Daehyun brought up a hand and ran it through Moon’s hair, not even minding the still-present motor oil. He deepened the kiss and felt Moon’s chuckle as Daehyun’s tongue licked across his lips, asking for access. Moon’s hand trailed up his back, running over tight skin and a little muscle. 

Breathing heavy, Daehyun broke the kiss, leaning his forehead against Moon’s and staring into his eyes. The eyes were amused but also… cold? Daehyun’s smile fell a little at the sight.

“Don’t worry,” he whispered against the lips he wanted to kiss again. “It’s not gay if it’s on the moon.” Moon chuckled, kissing him once again but this time much shorter, then pulling away.

“Then that’s a problem, sweetheart. Because I’m the only moon here.” Before Daehyun could ask what he meant, Youngjae raced out of the spaceship.

“Daehyun! We need to get out of here!” Daehyun spun around and saw Youngjae’s eyes widen almost comically, fixing on something behind him. Moon, Daehyun realized, just as Youngjae began to stammer. “J – Jongup!” Daehyun froze, spinning back around. Moon – Jongup because his full name was Moon Jongup and now everything made sense and that’s why he was wearing blue and oh my god, Daehyun was an idiot – laughed and turned away. 

He waved a casual hand behind him as he made his way towards where a woman waited for him. Daehyun watched, open-mouthed, until he reached the doorway. He turned back, grinning at Daehyun.

“Those battle plans were good, Daehyun! But… I’d suggest revising them now.” Then he was gone, and Daehyun stared after helplessly until Youngjae yelled for him to get his tiny ass back on the ship.


	2. So Much For Genius

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daehyun and Youngjae get the hell away from Mars and freak out over everything that just happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't help but add another chapter to this! I hope everyone likes it and finds it a little funny! Daejae freaks out and then it ends kind of cute so yay :)

“Daehyun, what was that?” Youngjae’s voice was quiet, but Daehyun could hear a note of hysteria in it. He’d stopped the engine – most likely because he didn’t know where the fuck they were after they got the hell away from Mars – and Daehyun looked out the window. 

The problem with looking out the window in space is, well, it’s really only blackness, blankness. It’s just space.

“Daehyun?” Youngjae’s voice rose in both pitch and volume. “I just saw Moon fucking Jongup next to you, _talking with you_. You need to say something right now or I…” He trailed off, and Daehyun could hear his breath, and he knew his chest must be heaving because Youngjae never dealt with shock well. Daehyun turned around.

“Oops?” he said, his own voice coming out strained. “I fucked up?” Youngjae was only a few feet away from him, within striking distance. Daehyun glanced around for a barrier to place between them.

“You – oops?” Youngjae echoed, his voice only getting louder. He waved his arms, shaking them in the air, and Daehyun flinched back. “Oops! That was – we were… How didn’t you realize who you were talking to!” Daehyun inched away. Youngjae tended to let his gesturing get out of control, and Daehyun was not in the mood to get hit by flying limbs.

“He called himself Moon so how was I supposed to know, and he was super nice too!”

“That’s called deception, Daehyun. This may shock you but it’s pretty common for intergalactic war lords to deceive people!” Youngjae stepped closer, arms still wind-milling as he spoke. His voice gave into the hysteria, and he full-out screamed. Daehyun searched for freedom. Considering he’s a tactician, you’d expect he could find something to protect himself. He wondered if Youngjae planned to corner him this badly.

“Why couldn’t you tell we were on Mars? You’re the navigator.” Daehyun attempted to keep his voice calm, but it was hard considering Youngjae’s accusations because this was not Daehyun’s fault. He clenched his fists at his side. Someone had to be the bigger person here, and obviously Youngjae wasn’t stepping up to do it.

“Why didn’t you just look at the insignia on the wall? Because if you didn’t notice; it literally said Mars on it!” Youngjae’s voice sped up, and Daehyun winced because okay, insulting Youngjae hadn’t been the right course of action. 

“You didn’t see it either!” Okay, so insulting Youngjae may not be the best idea, but that wasn’t going to stop Daehyun from doing it. He deserved it anyway; this was not Daehyun’s fault.

“I did,” Youngjae exclaimed. “That’s how I knew to get your sorry ass out of there!” He slapped Daehyun hard on the shoulder, and Daehyun flinched, bringing his other arm to rub at where he’d been hit. He frowned at Youngjae (no, it was not a pout, thank you very much), and Youngjae sighed, moving away and flopping into his navigator’s seat. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Daehyun said. He tried to smile at Youngjae but found he really couldn’t make it all the way. Youngjae grimaced at the attempt. Daehyun thought Youngjae should have appreciated his effort more, but this wasn’t the time for disapproval. “I know it’s… bad.”

Youngjae scoffed at the wording. “No. Bad is accidentally getting lost and needing to call to base to reorient myself. This was a nightmare. We flew through enemy territory. We’re lucky he didn’t just shoot us down.”

“Why didn’t he shoot us down though?” Daehyun echoed. He turned away to look through the windshield of the ship into the inky darkness. “There had to be a reason… He’s always been a great strategist.” He trailed off, not really talking to Youngjae anymore as his brain flipped through options. “He was waiting for someone – or something – and he mistook us for it.”

“Is that why he spent so long talking to you?” Youngjae asked. “Did he not realize who you were?”

“No, no,” Daehyun waved a hand towards him, dismissing him and his claims. “I introduced myself with name, rank and title. He knew exactly who I was, but I’m more concerned with what he said when I first got out.” Moon – Jongup – asked him if he even knew how to exit the ship correctly. Jongup expected incompetent people to come there. 

“He wasn’t surprised by our ship’s quality, even though his others were so old,” Daehyun said, the realization opening doors in his head. He pursued the possible paths, mapping out why Jongup would have acted how he did. 

“Our insignia is on the ship,” Youngjae added. “He was waiting for one of our ships.” For once, Daehyun didn’t mind the interruption of his thoughts.

“Moon Jongup was waiting for one of our ships full of incompetent workers?” Daehyun frowned. “I don’t understand. And that still doesn’t explain why he let us go.” Daehyun decided to not mention Jongup kissing him, and he shuddered at the memory of it even as part of his brain reminded him he’d quite enjoyed it. He shoved that thought way deep. Not now. 

“What did you do with him?” Youngjae asked. “You were with him for over a half hour.” Daehyun flushed and angled his head away from Youngjae so he wouldn’t see. He risked a glance up, and Youngjae’s unamused raised eyebrow told Daehyun he noticed the blush.

“He had me help him with maintenance on one of his ships. Then he got motor oil in his eye, and I helped him get it out.” Daehyun mumbled the last part, knowing Youngjae wouldn’t like that at all. Sure enough, Youngjae paused, taking a long second to process everything Daehyun said.

“Wait.” Youngjae waited until Daehyun looked up to continue. “You’re telling me Moon fucking Jongup was literally blind and defenseless in front of you, and you helped him?” His arms spun around him, and Daehyun cringed back to avoid them.

“You’re saying that as if I knew it was him! Reminder: I didn’t,” Daehyun snapped. He glared at Youngjae, who looked back with a mix of judgement and dark humor. Daehyun didn’t appreciate the mix in the least. “I still don’t understand how you managed to get us that far off course.” Youngjae stiffened at his comment, glaring back at Daehyun.

“Something’s wrong with our GPS,” Youngjae said. “I had no way to know. I did everything right; just the ship showed me the wrong map.”

“It’s space? How can there be more than one map? You’re full of shit, best navigator of the generation.”

“I was dumbing it down for you, you dick. Don’t tell me how to do my job.”

“Don’t tell me how I should have handled Moon Jongup! At least you should have like – seen a familiar landmark or something.”

“A landmark?” Youngjae echoed. “Daehyun. It’s space. It’s a vast chasm of nothingness with a lot of rocks and a bunch of balls of gas. You don’t just happen to run into a landmark you recognize.”

“You should have seen something!” Daehyun knew he sounded stupid, but he figured at least Youngjae wasn’t berating him for this. Besides, really? Best navigator of their generation? Ending up on Mars and not the moon. It’s not like the two were close together! Or looked alike. Or were similar sizes.

“Like what? A random fucking star in the middle of our route? Bitch, where?”

“Can you please just get us to the moon?” Daehyun asked. “How do you plan on actually getting us there considering it’s broken?” Youngjae frowned. 

“We could call the moon base? They can help direct us.”

“We’re behind enemy lines, and the tech on this is super easy to track,” Daehyun said, echoing the words he’d learned in training. 

“What other options do we have?” Youngjae asked. “I can’t guarantee to fix the GPS. I have no way to tell if its right or not.”

“Okay, fine,” Daehyun said, sighing. “But make it clear they know it’s probably being tracked.”

“Yes, of course, all-mighty-and-knowing-one-who-can’t-recognize-Moon-Fucking-Jongup.” Youngjae rolled his eyes. 

“This is not my fault! We wouldn’t have been near Mars if you just steered the ship right.”

Youngjae sighed, running a hand over his face. Daehyun thought he should be the one doing that, personally, but something in him also softened. Youngjae was well-respected on the moon. This was a huge shot against him and against his record. 

Daehyun knew no one would call him the most-talented young navigator anymore after this. 

For himself, this meant explaining to everyone how he told Moon Jongup himself about the plan to defeat him. Daehyun wondered whose situation was worse. This was his first time, so he’d made one hell of a bad impression. But Youngjae just disappointed all those who believed in him.

Daehyun shook his head, dropping the thought. It didn’t matter. They were both in deep shit and wouldn’t be flying anywhere again for a long time.

“Youngjae?” Daehyun asked, his voice only just above a whisper.

“Hmm?” Youngjae’s casual tone didn’t fool Daehyun. He knew how serious Daehyun’s question would be.

“Do you think they’ll ever trust us again after this? I just gave Jongup our battle strategies.”

Youngjae looked down. He stayed silent, clearly contemplating the question. Daehyun always liked that about him; Youngjae thought before he said anything serious. He knew Youngjae would be honest with him and not sugar-coat the situation.

“I don’t know. We fucked up bad, Dae.” Daehyun felt himself start to shake as the full memories came back to him. He kissed Moon Jongup, an intergalactic criminal. Youngjae stepped forward and laid a soft hand on Daehyun’s shoulder. Oh god. Youngjae must think he’s freaking out over his career.

“I kissed him,” Daehyun said, blurting the words out as the guilt spread through him. “I kissed Moon Jongup.” Youngjae’s hand tightened on his shoulder, and Daehyun couldn’t look up at him.

“How did that happen?” Youngjae asked, voice strained. Daehyun recognized the note of hysteria creeping in his voice again. For the first time in a long time, Daehyun recalled Youngjae was younger than him during a moment other than when he grumbled about Youngjae’s lack of respect.

“He just – I helped him get the oil off, and he was holding my hand, and he – realized you knew what was going on and just leaned in and kissed me.” Daehyun knew he could have abbreviated the story, knew that Youngjae wasn’t looking for the whole story really, and instead just wondered why the hell Daehyun would kiss Jongup.

“Daehyun, why did he play with you so much?” Youngjae asked. “Why would he do that?” Daehyun looked up in surprise, having expected anger and hysteria and yelling, not calm, strained questions. Youngjae’s eyebrows were brought together in a worried line, and Daehyun saw him chewing on his chapped lips. 

He did that whenever he’s really worried, Daehyun’s brain reminded him. His lips bleed all the time because of it. The lip biting was normal; the actual telling Daehyun what worried him was uncommon.

“I don’t know,” Daehyun said, his voice cracking in the middle. He coughed to fix it. “I just don’t know. There wasn’t a tactical advantage for him after I told him our battle plans. Maybe just to mess with me?”

“That scares me.” Youngjae hardly ever mentioned things that scared him; he tended to play them off and joke about them. Daehyun was normally the one to bring up concerns and hearing Youngjae’s quiet voice made him swallow hard. “We should check you for trackers or bugs or - anything.”

Daehyun nodded. He should have thought of that. “While I do that, you should contact the moon base. I don’t know what game Jongup’s playing, but I don’t want to be here if he decides to continue it.” 

“What do I tell them?” Youngjae said. “I don’t – I don’t want them to know about all of this.” Daehyun sighed. For as rare as it was for Youngjae to mention was scares him, it was even rarer for him to ask Daehyun for advice about it.

“I think we need to bite the bullet on this one. Otherwise we risk compromising too much.”

“You’re right,” Youngjae said. Daehyun tried to smile at him, his lips twitching into some semblance of one that he hoped Youngjae found comforting.

“It’ll be okay. We’ll figure it out,” Daehyun promised. Youngjae tried to smile back, and Daehyun decided to risk a joke in the hopes to make him smile. “At least we can tell them we gathered some intel.” He raised his eyebrows at Youngjae, smiling when he raised an unimpressed eyebrow and went with it.

“And what intel did you gain, Dae?”

“Moon Jongup has really soft lips?” Daehyun said. Youngjae stared at him, incredulous as Daehyun grinned and shrugged. “It’s true. It’s a fact.” Youngjae laughed, and it still sounded worried and stressed, but Daehyun was glad he at least sounded a little better.

“I don’t think that’s the intel they’re looking for, Daehyun.”

“Well, I mean, it’s worth a shot.” Daehyun grinned at Youngjae, and the soft smile he got in return promised him that no matter what, they’d be okay.


	3. Only Tell The Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moon Jongup believes in not hiding the truth above everything else. He can't deny that Daehyun is (objectively) stunning.

“Jongup?” Soojung asked, her voice quieted as she looked him over. He smiled back at her, waiting for her to continue. She was one of his newest additions to the crew, and she still hadn’t adapted to referring to him so casually. “Why – why did you let them go?”

“They don’t know anything of importance,” Jongup said. “No reason to not.” He peered over at his radar and frowned at the way the ship had barely moved. Jongup realized they must be trying to fix their navigation system. It had to be a mess for them to end up on Mars, especially considering Yoo Youngjae had led the ship.

“Sir, they’re making a call out to the moon base,” Soojung said, pointing out the outgoing waves. Jongup frowned, considering his options. On one hand, he knew Daehyun and Youngjae just wanted to get to the moon, so he doubted they’d linger around here. But still, it was a risk to allow a call from his territory. He’d spent a long time convincing the moon base his strength wasn’t a joke, and Jongup didn’t want to see anymore setbacks on that front.

“Interrupt it.” Jongup watched her hands skim over buttons and type codes into their programming system. He’d only just recently had a ship of disillusioned academy students defect to his side, and Soojung was the best among them. Jongup drew more students than the moon base liked to admit, but that was their own folly. 

Ignoring the truth rarely worked out well for anyone.

Jongup made it a point to not ignore any truths, whether the truth in question dealt with the war or dealt with how undeniably attractive Jung Daehyun had been. He didn’t believe in pushing down facts for any reason.

“Should I end it?” Soojung asked, pausing her typing to glance at him. He ran through his options. The likelihood of Daehyun and Youngjae stumbling onto something he didn’t want them to see was low, but he disliked the thought of them just floating out there, caught in Mars’ orbit. “Sir?”

“Put me on.” He moved to stand in front of their camera, watching for Soojung’s nod. “Transfer their broadcast so I can see them.” Jongup ran a hand through his hair. Another truth: he definitely was okay with Daehyun finding him attractive, even though his identity most likely made Daehyun deny that particular truth for now.

“Hello, Daehyun-ssi and Youngjae-ssi,” Jongup said, smiling up at the camera. His gaze flicked to the monitor, and his eyes narrowed at the fear on their faces. Truth: he hated when people feared him. Another truth: he actively pursued a public image that made those on the moon base fear him. 

Daehyun and Youngjae remained silent, but Jongup saw the devastation on their faces as they realized their escape wouldn’t be as easy as expected. “I can’t allow you to broadcast to the moon base from my territory. I’m sure you understand.” 

Jongup saw Youngjae flinch from his voice, though Daehyun stayed still. He wondered what Daehyun thought of him and became aware that his left eye still stung and was surely red and irritated.

“What are you going to do?” Youngjae asked, and Jongup applauded the false bravery in his stiff voice as he looked so clearly scared.

“I have no reason to hurt you, but I can’t allow you to be in my territory or broadcast from it. I’m sending someone to pick you and your ship up.” He watched Daehyun stiffen at his words and scanned his face to try and determine exactly why.

Jongup couldn’t tell, and he hated that. Not knowing things always bothered him; that’s one of the reasons why he never fit in at the Academy. Accepting that he just shouldn’t question certain things never sat well for him. Of course, in Daehyun’s case, he could just be attempting to read more into it than what was there. It was possible Daehyun only feared him.

“My crew should meet you in less than an hour. Until then, do nothing. If you try another broadcast, I will know, and I will stop it.” Jongup’s voice stayed calm and matter-of-fact. Truth: his gentle, calm voice scared people. Another truth: he really didn’t mean for it to happen, and it surprised him that his voice accomplished that. Even so, Jongup found his calm nature unsettled those from the moon base. He figured they painted him as a war-hungry criminal, intent on killing defenseless people to obtain his goals. Another lie.

The moon base said many things, and Jongup found he cared a lot more about the truth than any of what the moon base said. 

Accepting he’d get no answer from Daehyun and Youngjae, he motioned for Soojung to end the broadcast. 

“Send Junhong and his crew to get them. Instruct him to take one of the repair ships and land in the repair hanger.” Jongup waited for Soojung to nod before he smiled at her and dismissed her. She smiled back before she left. He considered that progress; the Academy trained that smiling towards superiors was disrespectful. Jongup trained his crew that that was ridiculous.

He watched the radar as a smaller blob took off. Of all his teams, Jongup sent Junhong's because they were efficient. But even more so, Junhong didn’t fit the picture of a normal worker. He cared very little about the war, focusing more on spreading peace. He knew nothing of tactical defenses, and his simple, sure way of speaking tended to surprise people even more than his giant frame and cotton-candy hair. 

Jongup didn’t plan on imprisoning Daehyun and Youngjae, and so he would keep some secrets tucked close. Daehyun and Youngjae had yet to see any of his real hangers; they’d landed in his repair station, and he made it a point to keep the new ships out of that area. 

As soon as Jongup noticed Youngjae’s ship, he began to prepare different defenses. He’d been waiting for Daehyun and Youngjae to make their first move, unsure of their reasoning and why they seemed so comfortable in his territory. When he’d recognized Youngjae, Jongup had consulted his main educator and partner, Yongguk, because he hadn’t expected Yoo Youngjae to ever defect from the moon base, but there he was, coming with a recruit Jongup didn’t recognize. 

Of course, the truth proved quite different. Jongup pursed his lips as he considered his conversation with Daehyun. He didn’t like that he hadn’t heard Daehyun’s name before this situation. 

Daehyun took care of warning him at least. Jongup’s lips twitched into a smile at the thought, but it quickly fell from his face. He made it a point to keep up on new up-and-coming Academy graduates. A surprising number defected to his side, and he made it a point to try and reach out to them if possible.

Truth: the best time to convince people of a new way to look at the world was when they felt most lost.

The moon base worked a lot differently than the Academy. Some flourished in the environment, like Yoo Youngjae, who Jongup observed but never bothered reaching out to because of his obvious comfort with his place. Others, like Soojung, found the environment manipulative and false.

Jongup found his crew in those people. He attracted the ones who realized the Academy’s world view, and the viewpoint of the entire moon base was far from truth. 

Truth: only a small number of Academy graduates ever woke up. Jongup didn’t mind that though. He believed his crew, especially when under Yongguk’s guidance, couldn’t be beaten. Both Jongup and the moon base tried to make it appear as if Jongup’s crew was smaller than it really was. For the moon base, that was to discourage dissenters from trying to join, making the battle seem like it would end soon, like Jongup would be captured soon.

Jongup changed the perception of his crew because he didn’t want people joining his side only because he was expected to win. He preferred the smaller, more loyal crew any day. Because of such things, he had many fewer casualties than the moon base.

Truth: he knew the name of everyone on his crew, and he hated losing any one of them more than anything else. Another truth: he’d rather die than send someone else from his crew to their death.

“Jongup?” Soojung’s voice rang out from his ear piece.

“Yes, Soojung-noona?” he said, pressing the button on his ear piece so it caught and transferred his words.

“Come to the main hanger. Yongguk-oppa wishes to speak with you.”

“Copy.” He wondered what Yongguk had to say to him. Jongup walked over, making a series of turns without a second thought. He always forgot how complicated the base was until new recruits came. Yongguk found it funny when they got lost and embarrassed. Jongup just found it part of the normal process.

He turned into the main hanger, looping through the series of ships lined up on their runways. A good number of them had the moon base’s logo on them, and that never failed to make him consider how comparable his hanger was to the moon base’s. According to the recruits, they were quite similar. Truth: Jongup had never gone to the moon base. If he’d stayed on the normal path through the Academy, it was likely he would still have yet to even go to space.

“Yongguk-hyung?” Jongup called, letting his voice raise only slightly above a normal speaking level. The metal walls of the base echoed his voice through the hanger; a loud volume just wasn’t necessary.

“Here, Jongup,” Yongguk responded. His voice echoed from the walls, but Jongup placed it as coming from deeper in the hanger and more to his left. He walked towards it, finding Yongguk leaning against a ship and staring out through one of the windows.

“What’s up, hyung? And why couldn’t we meet in your office for this?”

“Didn’t want to risk the trainees overhearing,” Yongguk said. Jongup always enjoyed his deeper voice. His own was quite gentle and quiet, and he struggled to sound commanding. It worked to comfort new recruits into realizing he didn’t run Mars like the moon base, but it didn’t work to educate them. Yongguk’s patient yet rough voice did wonders for training. “Why is Junhong picking up the moon base ship? I thought you planned to let them go?”

When Jongup first saw the ship on his radar, he’d had Soojung tap into their broadcasting cameras. After he saw Yoo Youngjae leading the ship with an air of confidence that seemed out of place considering he was in enemy territory, he and Yongguk tried to form a plan. 

He’d kept in contact with Yongguk via his earphone for much of the conversation, hiding whispered words from Daehyun’s curious eyes. Yongguk had found his motor oil blunder hilarious. Jongup projected the sound of him and Daehyun kissing as revenge. 

Truth: he and Yongguk rarely had a chance for anything like that unless they did something together, which required drinking beforehand. For as much as he and Jongup tried to kill politics on their base, they couldn’t totally get rid of them, and they both greatly disliked the rumors that spread if one of them slept with a crew member.

“Yoo Youngjae couldn’t fix their navigation and attempted to call the moon base. I couldn’t let that happen, and I can’t let them just float out there.”

“Will you still let them go?” Yongguk asked, “assuming you don’t convert them while they’re here?” Jongup smiled at his second-in-command. Yongguk knew him well.

“Of course,” he said. “I don’t plan on taking prisoners. I plan on hiding most of our resources from them. Warn the crew. Soojung-noona already warned Junhong and his team.”

“Jongup?” As if summoned, Soojung’s voice rang through his earpiece. At the same time, Yongguk said something into his own earpiece, no doubt speaking with the rest of the crew and preparing them for the visitors.

“Yes?” he responded, turning from Yongguk as he took the message. 

“Under five minutes until Junhong returns in the repair hanger.”

“Copy.” Jongup turned back to Yongguk, a small smile playing on his lips. “Are you interested in meeting the best navigator in our generation? And the tactician the moon base found important enough to send Youngjae with him?” Jongup already began walking, not even needing to listen for Yongguk’s reply to know he did. 

Yongguk didn’t even bother to reply because Jongup already knew the answer.

When they arrived at the repair hanger, they got to watch Junhong tow Youngjae’s ship into the hanger with one of larger old ships they owned. Jongup always enjoyed history; both the artifacts and the stories it could tell him. They rarely flew the old ships, and Jongup felt grateful that Junhong was interested enough in them that he had learned more about them in his free time.

Jongup fixed them up into flying condition; Junhong figured out what they could do. Sometimes it surprised them both that the older ships had features new ships didn’t, and it often led to new renovations.

For example, this particular ship Junhong chose had a hook used to manually attach another ship to it. Newer ships used a forcefield for that, which wasted energy, but the older ships wasted time. Connecting a hook to another ship while out in space wasn’t very easy and involved floating outside for a while. 

Jongup had built an electric sensor which, when activated, hooked two ships together without human interference. The technology was nothing special, but combining the old and new methods made the ship more efficient at towing than any other.

Junhong came out of the ship first, followed by Himchan and Jiho. While Jongup spent quite a bit of time with Junhong, he rarely spoke with the other two, though he knew Himchan and Yongguk were close. 

Daehyun and Youngjae trailed after them, looking considerably less comfortable and considerably more scared than the crew. Jongup waited for Daehyun’s eyes to flicker towards him to motion them over with a quick, calm gesture. 

They took their time in walking over. Jongup noticed their shoulders nearly brushed together as they walked, and he realized the two must be friends, not just coworkers. He filed that information away. The two stopped in front of Jongup and Yongguk, keeping a decent distance between them.

“Hello again, Daehyun-ssi, and welcome, Youngjae-ssi.” Jongup’s calm voice made them fidget. Junhong trailed over to stand behind them, and Jongup saw both Daehyun and Youngjae’s eyes flicker back towards him, clearly mapping out their enemies around them.

Possible truth: both Daehyun and Youngjae were observant. Opposing evidence: they hadn’t noticed Mars wasn’t the moon for an embarrassingly long time.

“You were just waiting to come get us again, weren’t you?” Daehyun spit out, clenching his fists at his sides. “You weren’t going to let us go at all!” Jongup didn’t react to the anger, leaving his calm smile on his face.

“No. I plan to still let you go. I assumed you could repair your navigation system without assistance and was wrong.” Jongup made it a point to admit his own mistakes and not brush them under the rug. Even with enemies. The tactic occasionally worked wonders to turn enemies into allies.

“So what then?” Daehyun demanded. Jongup noticed he’d snuck a hand behind Youngjae’s back, no doubt trying to comfort him with his touch. He wondered if the two had some sort of relationship beyond friends. “You’re just going to… let us go?”

Truth: he hoped they didn’t have a deeper relationship past friends, and he doubted they did. Daehyun kissed him much too hard for someone with a boyfriend.

“I’m going to repair your ship first,” Jongup said. “Then yes. If you’d still like to leave at that point, then I will let you go.”

“What do you mean by that?” Youngjae’s eyes narrowed as he spoke. Jongup met his glare without backing down, but he didn’t glare back.

“You’re the most talented navigator of our generation, Youngjae-ssi,” Jongup said. “And Daehyun-ssi must be talented if you were sent to guide him to the moon base. I’m not going to pass this up without at least trying to convert you.”

“You’ve heard of me?” Youngjae blurted out, his eyes flickering between Jongup and Yongguk as both nodded.

“We keep up with news about new Academy graduates. We’ve kept up on news about you for years.”

“You’re not going to convert me!” Youngjae blurted out. He took a step back and a deep breath. “I’m loyal to the moon base.”

“Of course,” Jongup nodded. “There’s no need to look scared, Youngjae-ssi. We don’t plan on forcing you into anything.”

“Why not?” Daehyun said, jumping in. “It’s to your advantage to keep us here as prisoners.” Jongup chuckled, and he heard Yongguk’s deep voice do the same thing.

“You assume we follow a strategy that doesn’t account for morals, Daehyun-ssi. We do no such thing.”

“If you’re going to tell us about some tragic backstory, don’t,” Daehyun said, snapping the words as he crossed his arms against his chest. “I’m a tactician; emotional responses won’t convince me.”

“No tragic backstories here, I promise,” Jongup said, raising a hand in the gesture of a promise. “Now, would you like to learn how to fix your navigation?” 

“First, who are you?” Youngjae asked, gesturing towards Yongguk. His eyes narrowed as Yongguk smiled at him.

“Bang Yongguk,” he said. “I help run the base. Forgive me for not showing my face much; I’m not as photogenic as Jonguppie.” Jongup scoffed at the remark, even though it was true.

They’d decided early on, when Yongguk was still more Jongup’s leader than Jongup’s partner and when they first plotted to claim Mars that Jongup would be the face of their side, leaving Yongguk to operate in the background. The memories made a bittersweet smile play on his lips. They’d been younger and more hopeful then. Jongup had only been sixteen and Yongguk twenty-two. 

He wondered what Daehyun and Youngjae would think once they realized Jongup was no doubt younger than them. The moon base liked to pretend no one could be intelligent and successful without much too long at the Academy.

“Are we ready then? Junhong, you joining?” Jongup glanced at Junhong, who had leaned against one of their oldest ships. 

“Nah, hyung,” Junhong said with a grin. “Maybe later though. Yongguk-hyung and I have some business.” Jongup nodded, motioning for their new guests to follow him. As he walked, Daehyun made it a point to stand next to him, not behind him. Truth: he liked Daehyun’s spirit. The fiery tactician made him smile.

“Make sure you wear safety goggles this time,” Daehyun said, catching his eye. Jongup knew he aimed to sound casual and sure of himself, but Jongup recognized the attempt to gauge his temper for what it was. Daehyun seemed intelligent, but this was his first mission, after all. 

“Of course. I meant it when I said I made a mistake.” Jongup’s voice was smooth as he spoke, almost earnest. He held back a smirk when he saw Daehyun’s confused glance towards Youngjae. “You will learn here, Daehyun-ssi, that I mean everything I say.” He lowered his eyes to Daehyun’s lips as he spoke, and he knew Daehyun noticed from the blush that grew on his face, and the way his tongue darted out to lick his lips.

As they walked away, Jongup’s earpiece buzzed, warning of an incoming speaker. 

“I’ll bet you he converts both the them,” Junhong’s voice said, and the corner of Jongup’s mouth twitched as he heard it.

“I’d be an idiot to take a bet like that,” Yongguk said. “He’ll definitely convert them.”

“Okay fine,” Junhong said. Jongup could imagine how he’d roll his eyes as he said that. “I bet Jongup and Daehyun sleep together within five days.”

“I’ll take you up on that one. I say three.” Now Jongup couldn’t hold back a smile at all.

“What are you smiling about?” Daehyun asked, looking at Jongup with suspicious eyes. Jongup realized Daehyun must have been staring.

“Just thinking about the future,” Jongup said vaguely. It was the truth. 

More voices came through his earpiece.

“What do I get if I win?” Junhong asked. There was a pause as Yongguk thought for a long second.

“I’ll assign you to show Youngjae the ropes. I saw how you were looking at him.”

“What about the future?” Daehyun asked. He glared when Jongup shrugged.

“It looks bright,” he said.

Truth: Daehyun and Youngjae were going to change a lot on Mars. Another truth: Jongup couldn’t wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who read this and thank you in advance to anyone who leaves comments or kudos! Have a nice day :)


	4. It's All A Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jongup works to fix Youngjae and Daehyun's ship with Junhong's help. Daehyun questions him and devises a plan to figure out what he's really like, but he needs to be careful because Jongup's already playing a game. Hopefully, Daehyun's not playing right into his hands.

“How do we know you’re not just messing with it?” Youngjae’s voice was hard, and he crossed his arms as he tried to stare Jongup down. Daehyun noticed his leg bouncing with anxiety as he spoke and knew Youngjae was dying to freak out but keeping an iron fist over his composure.

Jongup chuckled, and Daehyun really hated that sound. Only about ten minutes ago, Jongup had led them onto their own ship and had taken a seat at Youngjae’s computer system. A few clicks later as he navigated a system he shouldn’t have known, and Jongup pulled up something that Daehyun only faintly recognized as coding. Ever since, he’d concentrated on that, keeping an admirable calm in the face of Daehyun and Youngjae’s fidgeting.

“You’re the best navigator of our generation, Youngjae-ssi. You should be able to tell from here if your navigation isn’t working.” Jongup didn’t turn to face him as he spoke, but Daehyun could hear the smile as he spoke. Daehyun wondered if they meant to insult Youngjae by calling him the best navigator when he so clearly fucked up, but Jongup had been nothing but respectful since they’d met him.

Daehyun hated that. He hated how everything he’d originally seen in Jongup was still there. Jongup wasn’t supposed to be… likable. He was supposed to want to kill people and torture prisoners and do anything to win.

Daehyun didn’t like knowing Jongup had a sweet, innocent smile and he shuddered because he also knew Moon Jongup was a good kisser. He still didn’t understand why Jongup did that, and Daehyun hated not knowing even more than he hated Jongup’s chuckles.

Youngjae bit his lip and nodded, almost shrinking back away from Jongup.

“I’m going to try and convince you to stay here, Youngjae-ssi. You won’t find any deception.” Jongup’s tone remained light but the weight behind his words was evident. He didn’t turn, rather continuing to scroll through lines and lines of coding.

“We’d be more likely to join you if you deceive us,” Daehyun said, narrowing his eyes even though Jongup couldn’t see it. Jongup chuckled again, and Daehyun clenched his fists.

“You assume a lot for a tactician,” he said, and he spoke as though Daehyun barely had his attention and without turning from the coding. Daehyun noticed Youngjae trying to keep up with the lines and looking more and more panicked. “I only need to deceive if you assume my side is immoral. Otherwise I just need to tell the truth.”

“You’re a master at deception. Everyone knows it.” Youngjae’s teeth gritted as he spoke, and Daehyun figured Youngjae must hate Jongup’s chuckling and calm exterior as much as he did.

“So I am,” Jongup said, inclining his head. Daehyun saw the corner of his lips turn up as he let a small smile break through his concentrated face. “But believe me, my talents at deception pale when compared to the moon base.”

“What's that supposed to mean?” 

“They’re really good at calling me violent and evil for one.” His lip creeped up higher, and his smile transformed into a smirk. Neither Daehyun nor Youngjae took the bait to insist Jongup was evil and violent, and Jongup chuckled again at their silence. Daehyun clenched his jaw, but before he could even think of how to respond, Jongup’s smirk fell off his face, and he leaned forward in Youngjae’s chair.

“This is a mess,” he said, and Daehyun watched his eyebrows draw together as he highlighted a couple lines of coding. The green light from the highlighted text seemed too bright on a monitor Daehyun had only ever seen in black and white. “Did you code this, Youngjae-ssi?”

“No,” he said. He had also moved forward, and now he looked over Jongup’s shoulder. “I didn’t check the coding before I left earth with Daehyun,” he admitted. “I’d used this ship before and –” Youngjae blushed as he admitted his vital mistake. Jongup glanced at Youngjae and then back at the computer. He froze, and Daehyun watched his eyes narrow before he snapped his eyes back to Youngjae.

“Used it before as in someone expected you to fly with this one?” Jongup said, his voice sharpening. Daehyun jumped at the tone. While he hadn’t really raised his voice, the sudden attention on their conversation shocked Daehyun. Youngjae nodded, his eyes wide from Jongup’s focus on him.

Jongup stood from the seat, remaining calm externally but Daehyun could almost see the thoughts rushing through his mind. He glanced at Daehyun and Youngjae, contemplating something, and Daehyun knew from just the look that Jongup considered revealing something to them or not.

He raised a hand, and Daehyun leaned away, waiting to see what he’d do, but he only tapped something near his ear. Jongup’s eyes met Daehyun’s curious ones, and Daehyun was disappointed to see his eyes had returned to the expression that revealed nothing and he had his polite smile frozen on his lips.

“Yongguk-hyung?” Jongup spoke, turning away. “Bring Junhong here.” He paused, and Daehyun realized he must have some kind of communicator on his ear. That made more sense than Daehyun liked to admit, and he mentally hit himself for not realizing it sooner. “Yes. They’re here.” Jongup tapped it again as he turned back to Daehyun and Youngjae, grimacing.

“What do you think happened?” Daehyun asked. Jongup sighed, running a hand through his hair as he leaned against one of the counters. He paused for a long moment, his eyes focused on a spot on the counter. Then he looked at Youngjae.

“How important are you to them?” he asked. “Would they send you and Daehyun here as bait or as a divergence?” Daehyun’s heart pounded as he realized the implications of what Jongup said. “They know I wouldn’t kill you. Would they have sent you here on purpose?”

All eyes were on Youngjae, who frowned. Daehyun recognized him falling into work mode; he’d always been scary good at casting aside whatever he felt to focus on the needed task.

“I – don’t think so,” Youngjae said. “Just me, maybe. But not Daehyun.” Jongup inclined his head at the answer.

“It could just be a mistake,” he said. “They lost several talented coders on earth recently.”

“Yeah, we know,” Youngjae said, the professionalism falling as he glared at Jongup. Daehyun hadn’t known that. “You killed them.” Jongup chuckled again, shaking his head in amusement.

“They joined me, actually. The moon base likes to skew numbers.”

“Why would they join _you?_ ” Youngjae made it clear what he thought of Jongup by the disgust in his tone. His eyes flickered over Jongup, who only smiled more at Youngjae’s comment.

“I don’t think I’ve ever talked to someone so accepting of moon base propaganda,” he said. Despite his smile, his voice was dry. Youngjae clenched his fists, and Daehyun looked back and forth between the two. “We were right not to contact you about joining us.”

“I told you; I’m loyal to the moon base,” Youngjae said, raising his voice. Jongup raised his hands, that soft, almost innocent smile on his face. 

“I know, Youngjae-ssi. Just remember you told me yourself that they would have sent you here as bait.” Jongup’s eyes narrowed, but the soft smile remained on his face. “And I think we’re getting a little close for the honorifics, don’t you? May I call you hyung?” He tilted his head to the side again, and the innocent look on him still shocked Daehyun, no matter how many times they’d seen it already.

“You can’t be younger than me,” Youngjae said, glaring at him. “Why are you pretending to be younger than me?” Daehyun ran what he knew about Jongup through his head. He’d first taken the moon base three years ago, and even in the beginning, they struggled gain any ground at all against him.

Daehyun remembered hearing the news and scoffing when no one recognized him at the Academy, thinking he’d only make it for a couple weeks before the moon base annihilated him. How could one uneducated man take over a planet? It was ludicrous. But he wasn’t alone, was he? He and Yongguk worked together.

“You didn’t know me – at the Academy, I mean,” Jongup said. “No one did. No one recognized me. Why do you think that is? Why do you think I have no specialty, but instead do a little of everything?”

“You said you never graduated – oh my god,” Daehyun said, connecting the dots. “How old are you?”

“Twenty,” Jongup said. “We look at age a lot differently here than the moon base, hyung.” Daehyun hadn’t agreed to Jongup using the less-formal honorific, but he found that didn’t matter at all because good god, that meant Jongup took Mars when he was sixteen. Daehyun hadn’t even began training at that age.

Jongup’s eyes focused on him, and Daehyun swallowed hard at the intensity of the look. His reaction only made Jongup smile more, and Daehyun watched Jongup’s eyes lower over his body, checking him out in a way almost eerily similar to what previously happened between them. 

Daehyun looked away, blushing, and added the fact that Jongup clearly wanted him to the list of things he knew about their current situation. He just wished he understood why.

“Hyung?” a voice – Junhong’s, Daehyun’s brain reminded him – called, and Daehyun heart footsteps coming closer.

“In here, Junhong,” Jongup called, just barely raising his voice and facing the open door as he spoke. Junhong emerged from the hallway a moment later with Yongguk following. Daehyun realized Junhong must be even younger than Jongup, and he found that easier to believe. Despite Junhong’s height, his face still had a decent amount of baby fat.

Of course, so did Youngjae’s so Daehyun supposed that didn’t mean as much as he thought it did.

“What’s going on?” 

“Check this out,” Jongup said, motioning towards Youngjae’s computer and the highlighted code. “You know this better than I do.” Junhong nodded and stepped over, folding his long body into Youngjae’s seat. Daehyun watched him frown as he read the code, and he watched Junhong’s foot tap against the floor with excess energy.

“How did you – do all this when you’re so young?” Youngjae said, and Daehyun caught the strain in his voice even as he tried desperately to hide it. He understood. Youngjae’s graduation from the Academy had been celebrated; he’d graduated at the age of nineteen, younger than the vast, vast majority of graduates. 

By the age of nineteen, Jongup ran an entire planet. Daehyun looked at him again, trying to understand him. He hated things he didn’t understand, and Jongup fit very firmly into that category. Part of him wanted to get to know Jongup a lot better. Daehyun narrowed his eyes as he considered how to do that, but wasn’t it obvious considering how Jongup looked at him, how Jongup _kissed_ him?

“I read a lot,” Junhong said, not realizing the question hadn’t been addressed to him. “And I’ve always loved this stuff. It’s logical and fun to experiment with.”

“How old are you?” Youngjae asked, glancing between Junhong and Jongup. 

“Eighteen,” Junhong said absently as he began to type into the coding. “I don’t think it was a trap, hyung. I think someone just fucked up. Man, I can’t wait to tell Namjoon-hyung about this. He’ll find it hilarious.”

“Namjoon is here?” Youngjae demanded. “Why? He’d never – he was loyal!” Jongup looked at Junhong, raising an eyebrow as Junhong shrugged with a sheepish smile.

“Yeah so turns out a lot of people the moon base told you are dead actually are here,” he said, smiling up at Youngjae. “Hyung’s good at persuasion.” Daehyun saw Junhong’s eyes linger on Youngjae’s face and wondered what that meant before he turned back to the monitor and motioned Youngjae closer. “Here, come watch what I’m adding.”

Youngjae stepped closer, sitting in the seat next to him with a hesitant glance at Junhong. “Look, I know they teach it like this at the moon base.” He typed a quick series of code to replace the highlighted mistake. “But I’ve found this works better. What do you think?” Daehyun turned away, knowing he couldn’t add anything to that particular conversation, and he was more curious about Jongup anyway.

His eyes met Jongup’s and he realized Jongup had been watching him. Daehyun swallowed as the thought made his heart jump. He chewed on the inside of his cheek as he wondered how to learn what he wanted to know from Jongup.

“You have questions,” Jongup said, stating it as a fact rather than asking. “Ask away.”

“Why you?” Daehyun asked, immediately taking advantage of the opening. “Why both of you?” He addressed Yongguk as well with the second question. Yongguk and Jongup exchanged a glance, and Daehyun could see them communicating with the simple movement. 

“Yongguk-hyung planned it for years while at the Academy. I happened to meet him right when I started becoming disillusioned about the entire system.”

“So he convinced you to join him?” Daehyun stole another glance at Yongguk, who had looked down, a smile crossing his lips.

“He convinced me to go through with it,” Yongguk corrected, raising his head again and sending a fond glance towards Jongup, who smiled back. “I don’t know if I would have tried without him. Certainly wouldn’t have made it this far.”

“I can show you more off here, if you’d like,” Jongup said. Daehyun caught amusement flash through Yongguk’s eyes before he carefully hid a smile. “Would you?” He realized Jongup was trying to get him alone and frowned, wondering about the risk to his safety if he played along with Jongup’s game.

“I can’t leave Youngjae,” Daehyun said, not really knowing himself if he honestly didn’t want to go or if he just wanted Jongup to have to try harder to get him alone. Jongup narrowed his eyes at his answer, and Youngjae turned at his name, causing Junhong to cut off mid-sentence and roll his eyes.

“We won’t hurt you, hyung,” Jongup said, stepping closer to him and looking him straight in the eye. “Either of you. And Yongguk-hyung will stay here so we can stay in contact.” Even though he addressed everyone, he made his focus on Daehyun clear. Yongguk scoffed from behind him, and Daehyun silently agreed. Jongup was being quite obvious.

Daehyun bit his lip, meeting Youngjae’s eyes and trying to talk to him with the long look in the same way Yongguk and Jongup did. Youngjae nodded at him, telling him to go. Then he turned back to Junhong, who leaned a little closer to Youngjae than necessary as they resumed their conversation. Daehyun wished him luck if his goal was to seduce Youngjae. He’d learn soon enough that Youngjae didn’t notice anything unless it slapped him in the face.

“Let’s go,” Daehyun said simply, and Jongup grinned up at him before motioning him to go first. Daehyun began to walk through the ship, heading out the exit. When they reached the hanger, Jongup moved a hand against Daehyun’s back, laying his palm flat against it and leading him towards the door. Daehyun stiffened at the contact, feeling the warmth of his skin through his shirt.

He glanced over, seeing that small smirk gracing Jongup’s lips. Daehyun got the feeling he knew exactly how obvious he was being and could have been much subtler had he wanted to.

“Your eye is still red,” Daehyun blurted out, trying to hide the heat in his cheeks as Jongup touched him so casually. “Does it still hurt?” He sounded flustered, and sure, part of it was real because Daehyun hadn’t quite accepted that Moon Jongup wanted him, but it also worked for his plans as well.

“It’s not bad,” Jongup said. He spoke a lot softer now that he was alone with Daehyun. Perhaps it was because of Daehyun’s physical closeness, but Daehyun got the impression that Jongup put on a series of faces, often donning a different act for different situations.

Daehyun wanted to see the real Moon Jongup, especially since he knew Jongup must have a damn good case for them to betray their base if he felt as confident as he did. 

And so he played Jongup’s game, letting Jongup’s hand move gently against his back until they reached what looked like a control room. Jongup led Daehyun to a computer, removing his hand to pull up a series of files that he displayed onto the monitor.

Daehyun moved a little closer to him than was necessary, leaning their shoulders together and hearing Jongup’s breath catch. He hid a smirk at the first real reaction he’d gotten from Jongup, but Jongup played it off, opening a file on his computer and motioning Daehyun back into a chair. Jongup sat down beside him, moving further away in the process.

“What did you want to show me?” Daehyun asked, leaning forward to bridge the gap caused by their chairs.

“I could show you a lot,” Jongup said, shrugging as he looked at the monitor. His tone was pointed despite his lack of attention, and Daehyun frowned at him. “You’re a tactician. What can I show you to prove I’m not deceiving you?” His calm voice had returned, and he turned to look at Daehyun with a soft smile etched on his face. Daehyun wondered if he’d read too much into the situation or if Jongup was playing a more complicated game than he’d imagined.

Daehyun dropped that thought from his head, thinking over what he knew about Jongup and the Mars base. “You’re very confident that we’ll join you,” Daehyun said. “Why? I could maybe understand with me but with Youngjae…?”

Jongup leaned back in his seat, taking his hands off the keyboard and lacing his fingers together as he considered Daehyun’s question. “I think Youngjae trusts them less than he realizes. We can help him realize that. As for you, you just seem the type.”

Daehyun frowned at his calm smile, thinking over what he said. Jongup gave him time to comprehend it, his eyes watching Daehyun’s face without revealing any type of impatience. He swallowed hard as he realized what Jongup’s words meant. “You faked it. The - the thinking they’d sent us as a divergence. You wanted to test Youngjae so you faked it.”

“Yes,” Jongup said, nodding. “The coding was a mess, but it was just luck you two ended up here. If it was intentional then someone wanted you two floating through space, not here. I needed to know if Youngjae actually knew what it was like there.”

“And he does,” Daehyun finished. “He knew they’d throw him away so –”

“So even if he defends them, he doesn’t trust them.” 

“What I don’t understand is why you’re telling me all this.” Daehyun said, stating it as a comment even as he raised an eyebrow at Jongup, whose smile widened as he nodded.

“We’ve converted many people,” Jongup said. “But tacticians are the hardest. You expect games and tricks. I’ve found it’s better to be honest about what we do.”

“How do I know being honest isn’t a game?” 

Jongup chuckled again, shaking his head. He brushed a hand across Daehyun’s cheek, and Daehyun sat still even as the motion caused his hands to tremble in his lap. “Oh Daehyun-hyung, of course we’re playing a game.” Jongup’s eyes left Daehyun’s and lowered down his body and back up, lingering in such a way that Daehyun held back the urge to blush and turn away. When they met eyes again, Jongup’s sweet smile had transformed into a very knowing smirk. “I can tell you’re new at this.”

Daehyun blushed.


	5. When The Games End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> By the time Jongup realizes he may have underestimated Daehyun, it's already too late.

Daehyun ignored his blush and the way his heart pounded, instead leaning forward and letting his eyes drop to Jongup’s lips and back up to his eyes. 

“I have another question,” he said, close enough that he knew Jongup must feel the air from his words on his lips. Daehyun watched Jongup’s throat move as he swallowed, but Jongup still maintained an untouchable sense of calm, raising an eyebrow and letting out a curious hum. “Who are you? Are you the tactician who plays all these games or the engineer who gets motor oil in his eye?”

“Both,” Jongup said, barely breathing the word against Daehyun’s lips. “I’m a complicated guy, sweetheart.” 

He moved back, turning away from Daehyun to face the monitor. Daehyun chuckled, surprised by the nickname and how it seemed like the last time Jongup used it was a distant memory. A latent thought attempted to push its way through Daehyun’s mind, screaming about how he was inches away from _Moon Jongup_ but he shoved it away before it broke his concentration.

“Why the first kiss? You had no reason for it.” Daehyun’s question didn’t cause Jongup to look back as he scrolled through files too quickly for Daehyun to catch what they were about.

“Sometimes a kiss is just a kiss,” Jongup said, his voice once again bordering on absent-minded as he looked through the computer. “Now I have a question.”

“Shoot.”

“I receive lists of all graduates on a regular basis, especially those labeled as outstanding. Why haven’t I heard your name before this?” Jongup paused on a file, and Daehyun recognized it as a list of names on a spreadsheet. His eyes flickered to where his should have been, frowning as he noticed it wasn’t there. 

“I don’t know,” Daehyun said. “I didn’t know about that.” Jongup looked at him sideways, and Daehyun wondered if he was judging whether to believe him or if it was just as act. 

“That worries me,” Jongup said finally, looking back towards the monitor and causing Daehyun to lose sight of whatever he’d seen in Jongup’s eyes. “Why did they send Youngjae with you and not one of the new navigators?”

“I – figured they just needed us both back at the same time.” Daehyun blushed as he realized how stupid the assumption had been. He’d been so ready to make it to the moon and for his strategy to be given real thought that he hadn’t considered the situation much at all. Jongup nodded, seeming to not judge him for his mistake.

He turned away a little, tapping his ear in a now-familiar way. “Junhong, ask Youngjae why he was sent with Daehyun when you think he’ll answer you. No rush. Daehyun doesn’t know. Copy.” He turned back to face Daehyun with just a hint of a smile on his face. “Turns out there’s hope for Youngjae after all.”

“You don’t seem surprised.”

“Junhong’s quick at this stuff.” Jongup’s smile grew as he spoke, and Daehyun frowned as he considered Junhong. He’d seemed intelligent and somewhat to the point with them, working fast and trying to comfort them as both he and Youngjae had freaked out over their capture, but Daehyun hadn’t seen anything too special in him.

“Why?” Daehyun clasped his hands in his lap, trying to hold back nervous fidgets. He hated needing to ask Jongup so many questions, even though Jongup answered them without any hesitation.

“He knows nothing about war strategy,” Jongup said with a snort. “He’s hopeless as a tactician and just likes to play with coding and figure out old ships.” Daehyun could see amusement shining in Jongup’s eyes even as he rolled them. “Weirds people out that he’s so obviously useless at helping us fight. I can guarantee he’s told Youngjae at least one thing that should have been kept secret by now.”

“Why doesn’t he know? Because he’s young?” Daehyun said, wrinkling his forehead as his eyebrows moved down towards his eyes. He knew that couldn’t be right. Jongup chuckled, shaking his head.

“Nope. He’s just not interested in it. Only bothered coming here at all because of the pressure on him to be a soldier.” Daehyun nodded, considering how Junhong had seemed friendly and hadn’t grown angry even when they both insulted him and Jongup. “He’s thrilled about Youngjae. We don’t have any navigators that talented here, and Junhong’s going to learn a lot from him.”

“You think highly of him – Youngjae, I mean,” Daehyun said, frowning. “You respect him.”

“Of course,” Jongup said, nodding. He glanced over at Daehyun with earnest eyes, and Daehyun struggled to read if the emotion was real. “I’m no navigator. I know a bit of the coding for it, but neither Yongguk-hyung or myself are experts at the rest. Junhong's the best we got, and he's mostly self-taught.” He paused for a long moment, continuing after Daehyun didn’t comment and continued to meet his gaze. “Made us pretty nervous when we tapped your cameras and saw Youngjae looking so confident. ‘Course we realized the truth pretty quickly.”

“You had our cameras tapped?” Daehyun echoed, realizing he hadn’t even considered that possibility. His stomach sank because that should have been his first thought when they left Mars the first time. No wonder Jongup had known about their attempt to call the moon base. 

“Of course,” Jongup said with a nod. “Did you really think I didn’t know what Youngjae was doing on your ship the entire time we talked?” Daehyun nodded, biting at his lip as he accepted the new information. 

“Why aren’t you concerned that Youngjae or I could be spies?” Daehyun asked. “You wouldn't disregard that.”

“When Youngjae saw our insignia, he got so freaked out he tripped and knocked both himself and a table over.” He chuckled, shaking his head at the thought. Daehyun faintly recalled hearing a loud bang right before Jongup kissed him, and oh, that made a lot of sense, considering Jongup had known Youngjae had been on his way to warn Daehyun.

“Besides, I think any spies would have come up with something better than Youngjae mistaking Mars for the moon.”

“So you had everything planned?” Daehyun said with a frown. “Except the kiss?” Jongup nodded.

“The kiss was just for fun.” He leaned forward again, this time reaching a hand out and laying it on Daehyun’s thigh. “You’re very attractive, hyung. I wanted to take advantage of that.” Daehyun stiffened, his mind stuttering as he tried to figure out how to react to Jongup’s hand on his thigh. 

Jongup had to be acting so obvious for a reason, and Daehyun didn’t understand it. He swallowed hard, wide eyes trailing to Jongup’s hand and back to his smirking face.

At Daehyun’s lack of reaction, the hand began to stroke up and down, fingers teasing higher and higher with each stroke. Daehyun held back a gasp at the movement, not holding back the urge to jerk away from Jongup’s touch. He could feel the warmth of Jongup’s hand through the thin material of his pants, and he gritted his teeth to stop himself from reacting when Jongup lightly scratched his nails down Daehyun’s skin.

“And the motor oil,” Daehyun said, keeping calm even as his heart pounded in his chest. He met Jongup’s gaze and saw thinly veiled amusement. “I don’t think you planned that.” Despite Daehyun’s attempts to sound suave and unbothered, he couldn’t help but think Jongup saw right through the act from the way his eyes narrowed. 

Jongup nodded, moving his hand so it just brushed against the front of Daehyun’s pants. His breath caught in his throat as his body responded to the tease, and Jongup’s amusement became a full out smirk. “No one's perfect. Sometimes things get a little messy.” He rocked his palm against Daehyun, chuckling when Daehyun’s hips rolled with his hand.

Daehyun focused on Jongup’s calm smile, leaning forward and running a hand through Jongup’s hair before fisting it within his hand and tugging. Jongup let out a quick breath and his hand moved to grab Daehyun’s thigh, squeezing it with strong fingers.

“I have another question.” Daehyun said, pressing his lips against Jongup’s before he could answer. Jongup’s lips moved against his own, and Daehyun loved the warmth from them. His other hand pressed against Jongup’s back, drawing him in a little closer. When they broke the kiss, Jongup leaned his head against Daehyun’s.

“What is it?” he asked, and as he said it, he laid his hand on the bulge in Daehyun’s pants, causing him to let out a strangled moan. Daehyun took a second to compose himself before responding.

“What’s the goal of this game?” The words came out breathy, revealing how much Jongup’s unmoving pressure against his dick affected him. Jongup chuckled against his lips, and Daehyun realized he hated that sound again, but this time for a very different reason. He would much rather hear the sounds Jongup made when he lost his composure completely. 

“You,” Jongup said, his eyes staring into Daehyun’s from only centimeters away. His word hit Daehyun’s lips with a puff of air, and Daehyun resisted the shiver of arousal that threatened to visibly race through him. “Didn’t think you’d make it this easy though. What’s yours?”

“You,” Daehyun said, mimicking Jongup’s tone and closeness. Jongup pressed a kiss against his jaw before smiling against his skin. He leaned back, shaking his head as he chuckled again. 

Jongup ran his hands over Daehyun’s back, and Daehyun leaned into the touch, making Jongup smirk. Daehyun knew if he didn’t change things soon he’d play right into Jongup’s hands, but he did have a few ideas on how to make this situation into what he wanted. 

Jongup’s entire facade, the masks he pulled on and off in different situations, depended on him maintaining calm and nothing surprising him. Daehyun thought he could make this moment a lot different than Jongup imagined it would go.

He shifted his hands on Jongup’s body, moving his hands to Jongup’s shoulders and leaning in further as Jongup stroked rough fingers across his face. Daehyun let his eyes fall shut, tilting his head toward the touch.

“Oh, sweetheart, I don’t think you're going to manage -” Jongup broke off with a startled gasp as Daehyun yanked him to his feet by his shoulders, shoving him towards the wall as he stood up and raising onto his toes to cage Jongup against the wall and between his arms. Jongup accepted the new position with a calmness that only made Daehyun more determined. “Not bad.” 

His eyes narrowed, and Daehyun knew he was reassessing the situation. Daehyun had surprised him.

He kissed Jongup again, hiding his smirk in the kiss. This time he ran his tongue against Jongup’s lips until they opened for him. Daehyun buried his hands into Jongup’s fluffy hair and pulled hard as Jongup’s tongue met his. A small fight for dominance began, but it ended after only a few seconds, with Daehyun growling a warning against Jongup’s lips and tugging hard on his hair, forcing a small gasp out of him that gave Daehyun the advantage.

“Hmm, wasn’t expecting that,” Jongup said, smiling as Daehyun broke the kiss. “I thought you’d –” Daehyun slipped a leg between Jongup’s and pressed it hard against him, causing him to break off with a sudden moan and dig his nails into Daehyun’s shoulders.

“You were saying?” Daehyun asked, beginning to rock his leg between Jongup’s. He let out a breathy chuckle, still looking Daehyun in the eye even as his breaths came out in gasps and his hips started to follow Daehyun’s motions.

“I like you,” Jongup said, his voice coming out deeper and with a roughness Daehyun hadn’t expected. “Gonna keep you around.” He grasped Daehyun’s shoulders to move them, attempting to use his no-doubt greater strength to switch their positions, but Daehyun wasn’t having it, grabbing his hands and leaning further against Jongup.

He forced their bodies flush against each other and pressed Jongup’s hands on either side of his head, shoving his lips against Jongup’s and biting at his bottom lip. Jongup groaned against his mouth and shifted, the friction between them causing both to moan. 

“Alright, enough fun,” Jongup said, and Daehyun caught him glancing around the room for something to help him switch their positions. “Let me up, sweetheart.”

“You talk too much when you get nervous.” Daehyun kissed along his cheekbone, biting at his ear and feeling Jongup tremble against him. “Makes it obvious you’re faking how calm you are.” Jongup tilted his head away from Daehyun, and though Daehyun could have pursued kissing him, he let him move back – for now, anyway.

Daehyun pulled back and appreciated Jongup’s appearance. His lips already looked a little swollen and well-kissed, and his hair was decidedly messier than before. He released one of Jongup’s wrists to stroke his face, watching Jongup’s eyes flutter shut and his hand drop to Daehyun’s shoulder as Daehyun’s finger ran along his cheekbones and then across his lips.

“My room,” Jongup said, snapping open his eyes to reveal blown pupils and pressing his body against Daehyun again. “We need to move –” Daehyun frowned, wondering what brought about the sudden change, but it only took him seconds to comprehend it.

“Why not do it here?” Daehyun said, breathing the words against his lips. “Worried someone will walk in and see their leader like this? You shouldn’t have started something you can’t finish, Jongup.” 

Jongup tried to pull away, only for Daehyun to slam him back against the wall, causing his head to hit the metal. He whimpered, and Daehyun held back a wince because okay, he’d hadn’t meant for that to happen and really hoped he hadn’t given Jongup a concussion or anything.

“We need to –” Jongup’s struggles turned more desperate, and Daehyun smirked as he put together why.

“You can hear them, can’t you? Through your radio. You know there’s people coming right now, and if we don’t move then they’ll all see you trapped between me and the wall.” Jongup’s breaths came in fast gasps as he continued to struggle, the worry in his eyes enough for Daehyun to know he was right. 

Daehyun thought Jongup’s worry may be the first definitely-not-fake emotion he’d seen from him. A part of him liked seeing it, but Daehyun knew he didn’t want to scare Jongup; he just wanted this to be real. He couldn’t deny the spark in him that wanted to know Jongup, and Daehyun wasn’t planning on letting Jongup maintain a fake persona during this.

Daehyun thought his goal might be easier to reach than he’d originally thought, considering how easy Jongup’s composure broke when Daehyun’s lips were on his. He released Jongup from the wall with a chuckle, wondering how he planned for them to make it to his room when they both looked less-than-decent and very turned on. 

With a small glance at the door, Jongup grabbed his wrist and dragged Daehyun towards the other side of the room, pulling open a different door to reveal a small hallway. He shut the door firmly behind him and breathed an obvious sigh of relief, his bruising grip still tight around Daehyun’s wrist as he pulled open one of the doors and dragged Daehyun into a bedroom.

As soon as the door shut, he jumped at Daehyun, pressing him back against the wall with a growl. Daehyun narrowed his eyes at the change, but Jongup’s lips attached to his neck, and he accepted it with a small moan, tilting his head to give Jongup better access. Daehyun wrapped his arms around Jongup’s back, squeezing his ass for good measure and making Jongup jerk against him. 

The friction caused both to moan, and Daehyun slipped his hands under Jongup’s shirt, trailing his fingers over tight muscle and running his nails over Jongup’s back. Jongup’s hands found his shirt and pulled it up, and Daehyun allowed Jongup to manhandle him away from the wall to rip it off. He moved to his own shirt next, and Daehyun took the opportunity to shove him, making him stumble back with his shirt pulled halfway over his head.

Jongup let out a gasp as he fell over the bed, and Daehyun took the opportunity to trap him against it, pulling his shirt off the rest of the way and keeping his hands firmly on Jongup’s shoulders as his eyes scanned his chest and traveled down to his waist, where his boxers peeked out from below his pants.

“Like what you see?” Jongup said with a smug smirk, tangling one of his hands into Daehyun’s hair. He narrowed his eyes at Jongup’s attempt to regain his composure, and Daehyun moved his lips to Jongup’s neck, sucking marks into it until Jongup’s hand clenched in his hair. He let out a long moan, and Daehyun grinned at the sound, catching how his eyes fluttered shut and his body relaxed against the bed.

“On the bed,” Daehyun ordered, moving off him so Jongup could scramble the rest of the way up, grinning larger when Jongup immediately obeyed. Daehyun moved up to straddle over him, watching how he bit at his lips and his eyes kept drifting down Daehyun’s body. Jongup reached up with a surprisingly gentle hand to trace down his chest. One hand found Daehyun’s nipple, and though he’d never been particularly sensitive there, the touch made him arch down towards Jongup.

Daehyun pushed Jongup’s legs open with one of his hands, and Jongup complied without question, letting out a cross between a moan and a whimper as Daehyun ground his knee against him. He took that as a sign to pull down Jongup’s pants, and Jongup lifted his hips to help before reaching for Daehyun’s own pants. 

Jongup undid the button, palming Daehyun through the material and causing a low moan before Daehyun helped him rip his pants off. He dropped his hips into Jongup, grinding down and crashing their lips together. Jongup’s hands scratched up his back, and Daehyun hissed against his lips from the sting. His own hands found their way into Jongup’s hair, tugging through it as his lips swallowed the mix of small sounds coming from Jongup. 

Daehyun moved his mouth to Jongup’s neck, reaching down with one hand to grip Jongup through his boxers. He grinned against sweaty skin as Jongup let out a loud whine and jerked his hips at Daehyun’s touch. Daehyun latched onto Jongup’s collarbone, swiping his tongue over the area as he bruised it. Jongup’s hands ran over Daehyun’s bare back, squeezing the muscle and touching him anywhere he could reach.

Jongup shifted under him, no doubt getting impatient, and Daehyun chuckled. “I think you’re losing your game.” he said, grinning at how ruffled Jongup looked with his swollen lips and messy hair. He almost regretted the words after he said them, knowing they’d force Jongup to try and regain control of the situation.

Sure enough, Jongup growled and attempted to flip them only for Daehyun to press harder against him, grinding their hips together and stroking Jongup through his boxers. He gave up on flipping them almost surprisingly easy, instead snapping his hips up with a moan. Daehyun hid a smirk, knowing that despite all the games Jongup played and all the times Daehyun struggled to keep up, this was one game he was winning.

“Tell me I won,” Daehyun said, narrowing his eyes and definitely pushing his luck. Jongup growled again, and Daehyun removed his hand, causing Jongup to whine against his lips. He moved his hands to the waistband of Jongup’s boxers and pulled them down, tossing them to the side. 

Daehyun repeated his order, letting one hand linger just above Jongup while the other held his hips in place. He knew Jongup must feel the warmth of his hand from such close proximity, and sure enough, Jongup struggled to roll his hips against Daehyun’s hand. 

He was pleased to see the clear want written across Jongup’s face. But even so, Jongup shook his head, refusing to answer Daehyun and causing his hair to flop into his face and stick to his sweaty face. He decided to let it go – for now, at least.

Daehyun noticed a bottle of lube and a condom on his bedside table and grabbed it, pulling off his own boxers and moaning as he rocked his hips against Jongup’s, now without anything between them. Jongup shook from the movement, trembling under Daehyun as he gripped his hands tight against his back. Daehyun coated his fingers in lube before trailing them down Jongup’s length and then over his ass. Jongup jerked under him.

A series of emotions ran through Jongup’s eyes, and Daehyun almost expected him to order Daehyun to stop, but instead Daehyun watched acceptance flicker across his face. Jongup relaxed against the bed, preparing himself both mentally and physically, and Daehyun waited until Jongup looked at him and nodded before beginning.

Daehyun pushed the first finger into Jongup, and he grimaced a little from the pain. Daehyun leaned forward to kiss him, using his other hand to play with his nipple and trail over his chest. When Jongup relaxed under him, Daehyun added a second finger. He gasped at the pain, and Daehyun took a moment to wonder how often Jongup did this because he seemed almost shockingly inexperienced. Daehyun wondered if he rarely bottomed and couldn't deny he enjoyed that particular thought.

Then Jongup shifted his hips and moaned loud, ordering him to move, and Daehyun didn’t have time for thoughts like that anymore, not with Jongup naked and willing under him. He added a third finger, waiting until his movements had Jongup whimpering and trying to meet each one for more stimulation to finally reopen the lube. 

Daehyun removed his fingers, and Jongup whined, staring at him with lidded, heavy eyes. He reached a hand down to stroke himself as he watched Daehyun cover his own length with the condom and lube. Daehyun lined himself up as Jongup trembled under him, ready.

“Tell me I won,” he said, holding himself positioned just outside Jongup and whispering the words against his lips before kissing him hard, swallowing a long, low whine that spilled from Jongup’s lips. He pulled back, staring into Jongup’s eyes. “Jongup. Tell me.” 

He shook his head several times, the movements jerky as his fingers clenched against Daehyun’s back. Daehyun pressed into him just enough for Jongup to feel him and moaned as he felt Jongup’s walls move, pulsing as Jongup’s body trembled with need. 

He took a moment to appreciate how different Jongup looked now, vulnerable and willing and _real_ against his bed sheets. Jongup didn’t have a mask on, and Daehyun loved it. He pulled away again, watching Jongup’s hands move to grab the sheets in his hands, closing his fists tight around the fabric. His eyes opened, and Daehyun met his desperate look with a cool, lustful smirk. Jongup trembled more under his gaze.

“Tell me.”

Daehyun got to watch the moment Jongup decided to give in echo through his eyes, and he thought it might be the hottest thing he’d ever seen.

“You won,” Jongup repeated, choking the words out, and Daehyun moved into him. Jongup tensed at the pain, laying his head back against the pillow and closing his eyes. His walls fluttered around Daehyun, who swallowed hard and resisted the urge to thrust the rest of the way into Jongup. He froze, shaking at the self-control it required, waiting for Jongup to nod before sliding in the rest of the way. He panted when he bottomed out, appreciating the heavy heat around him.

Jongup rolled his hips, letting out a loud moan that Daehyun swallowed with his lips and tongue. He took that as Jongup’s sign for him to move and began to do small thrusts. Jongup’s hands clawed at his back, and he tilted his head back as the feeling overwhelmed him. Daehyun sped up, attaching his mouth to Jongup’s neck and biting at the slick skin. 

“Dae – Daehyun,” Jongup said, panting and struggling to meet thrusts, turning him into a desperate, wiggling mess on the bed. “Daehyun.” His voice cracked on the word.

“Tell me what you need, Uppie.” He thrusted harder, keeping an even speed and trying different angles to figure out what worked best. 

“Just – go, keep going,” Jongup’s words came out mumbled into Daehyun’s skin, and he let out a loud cry as Daehyun hit where he was looking for. Daehyun repeated the motion, and Jongup’s nails tightened in his back, scraping down hard enough that Daehyun could feel blood welling in the cuts.

Jongup began to moan parts of his name, and Daehyun felt his own pleasure growing from the way Jongup tightened around him, fluttering as he got closer. “I need –” He broke off with a cry.

“What do you need?” Daehyun asked, voice coming out in a low growl as he sped up.

“Touch me,” Jongup pleaded, and Daehyun could see him blinking sweat from his eyes as he met Daehyun’s. He raised one of his hands to Jongup’s face, holding his palm in front of his mouth.

“Lick,” he ordered, but he hadn’t needed to say that because Jongup’s tongue was already licking up and down his palm. The feeling of Jongup’s sloppy, eager tongue made Daehyun moan and feel himself twitch from within Jongup. He reached down to touch Jongup with his wet hand, stroking him slowly but firmly.

Jongup shuddered with each touch, gasping and moaning bits of Daehyun’s name as his body writhed under Daehyun.

“I’m – can I - _Daehyun, please,_ ” Jongup choked out, hands tightening on Daehyun’s back as he bit his lip. Daehyun held back a moan because fuck, he hadn’t expected Jongup to ask permission, and it was so goddamn hot to see him beg.

“Cum for me,” Daehyun breathed against his lips, capturing them in a harsh kiss and biting his bottom lip until he tasted blood. Jongup cried out at the bite, nails scraping down Daehyun’s back in response.

Daehyun twisted his hand, moving just a little faster as he pumped Jongup, and all it took was that single change for Jongup’s cry to cut off, the sound becoming strangled as his orgasm shook his entire body. He tightened around Daehyun, who gasped out his own orgasm, collapsing onto Jongup as he finished. 

For a long second, they both just breathed against each other, sticky and sweaty and exhausted. Then Jongup wrapped his arms around Daehyun, holding him close. He hid his face in Daehyun’s chest, breathing hot, heavy breaths as they both calmed down. Jongup rubbed his cheek against Daehyun’s skin, and Daehyun got a glimpse of his closed eyes and the way he seemed hardly able to hold up his head.

Daehyun smiled at the sudden show of softness, petting Jongup’s hair before pulling out. Jongup whimpered at the movement, reaching out to keep his hands on Daehyun even when he moved away. Daehyun discarded the condom to the side, leaning back as Jongup wrapped his arms and legs around Daehyun, effectively surrounding him and trapping him on the bed. 

Jongup shifted them so Daehyun was on his back before lying beside him and half on top of him, one leg strewn over his hips and an arm flopped across his chest. Daehyun accepted the new position with a smile, tightening his arms around Jongup as he nuzzled his head into Daehyun’s chest again.

“I let you win.” Jongup peered up at him with sleepy eyes and a small frown. Daehyun shrugged, holding back a smile because they both knew Jongup was full of shit. His movement displace Jongup, and he let out a tired groan, readjusting.

“Even so, I liked this game,” Daehyun said, even though he knew that despite how it started, it hadn’t only been a game for either of them. Jongup raised his head to glare at Daehyun with sleepy, drooping eyes before dropping his chin back on Daehyun’s chest and resting his palm on Daehyun’s stomach.

“No more games. Time for sleep,” he murmured the words into Daehyun’s chest, and Daehyun only barely caught them. He petted Jongup’s sweaty hair with a shaky hand, smiling as he watched Jongup’s eyes drift shut and his breathing even out.

“Hi, Moon Jongup,” he whispered, careful to not wake him. “Nice to really meet you.” Jongup hummed, his cheek sliding against Daehyun’s chest as he shifted. Daehyun smiled at him, then leaned back and joined Jongup in sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I actually put a ton of thought into exactly what happened in this one. I know it probably surprised most people XD But my main reasoning for it is that one, Jongup isn't that experienced sexually (he mentions in the third chapter that most of his experience comes from him and Yongguk having drunk sex to relieve tension, not because they're particularly attracted to each other). Two, Jongup's whole persona (as Daehyun realizes) depends on him remaining calm and in-control, which is difficult during sex.
> 
> So basically I thought that while Jongup's definitely a master at mental games, he was out of his depth during anything physical, which Daehyun certainly took advantage of. Let me know what you think about it!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think!


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